Michael Sullivan and daughter Latese Sullivan / Family photo
BY SAFIYA MERCHANT
Homicide Watch Chicago
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted robbery for fatally shooting longtime UPS worker Michael Sullivan, police said.
Sullivan, 53, was walking to the Pulaski “L” station when he was shot and killed in the West Garfield Park neighborhood Tuesday night while on his way to his UPS job, family members said. He had worked for UPS for 32 years, and walked a half-mile at night to catch a Green Line train to work.
UPS certificate / Family Photo
Now, a 16-year-old boy has been charged as a juvenile with first-degree murder and attempted robbery in connection with his death, Chicago Police announced Thursday evening.
The teen was also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, criminal damage to government property and having a replica firearm pellet gun, according to a police News Affairs statement. His name was not released because of his age.
“He was truly a big brother,” said Sullivan’s younger brother, 49-year-old Fredrick Sullivan. “He was a hard worker … That was my hero. That was my role model.”
Emergency personnel found Sullivan shot to death on the ground in the 4200 block of West Lake Street just after 11 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
Detectives are investigating robbery as a possible motive and are looking at area surveillance footage, police said.
“He worked hard for anything he had, so he wasn’t the type just to let you come and just take something from him,” Sullivan’s oldest daughter, Latoya Griffin, said from her father’s home in the 4300 block of West Maypole Avenue.
The family gathered at the home Thursday afternoon to sort through Michael Sullivan’s belongings — including an extensive collection of Hot Wheels and baseball cards.
Fredrick Sullivan, who shared a room with Michael Sullivan from 1968 to 1984, said whenever he would see Hot Wheels toys in the store he “had to get these for my brother.”
Family members said Sullivan lived on the West Side his entire life and went to Austin High School, where he played running back and safety on the football team. He later received an associate’s degree from DeVry University.
Sullivan loved sports — especially the Bears, Bulls, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers, family members said. He also enjoyed video games, which he often played with his youngest daughter Latese Sullivan and his 15-year-old grandson Bryan Stafford.
Sullivan, who had two brothers, two sisters, two daughters and two grandsons, suffered from kidney problems that required dialysis, family said.
Michael Sullivan as a young child / Family Photo
“He was a fighter, he was fighting it, and I know he was fighting it for us,” Griffin said. “Everything was about us, everything he done was to make sure his family was well taken care of.”
Family said they never thought they would lose Sullivan to violence.
“Never did we think God would take him out this way,” said Michael Sullivan’s older brother, 61-year-old Jerome Mitchell.
Griffin said she could “take the call” if his kidney failed, because she knew it was “something that could go wrong.”
“But for somebody to call and tell me somebody shot and killed my father … It was the last thing I ever thought would bury my father,” Griffin said.
The death will be especially difficult for the family during the holiday season. Griffin said the family would always buy Michael Sullivan electronics for Christmas.
Sullivan lived at the home with his mother, Callie Sullivan, and oldest brother. This year, Griffin said the family planned to buy a new LED television for the home on Black Friday.
“Every Black Friday we bought him something,” Griffin said. “We put something in the cart for him every year.”
Anybody with information about the murder should call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8261.
— Contributing: Michael Lansu, Sun-Times Media Wire